epsom salt treatment

today i'm gonna talk about the wonder that is epsom salt.

I found out about Epsom Salts for the treatment of everyone's favorite pesky skin disorder through... THE INTERNET! I made myself a little concoction and am happy to say that coupled with Epsom Salt bath soaks, my skin has calmed down considerably. Therefore, I am sharing my creation process with those of you that are out there so that you too can find out if Epsom Salts can help your skin as well.

First, I began by boiling down equal parts Espom Salts and water. I also added a tiny bit of my favorite scented bath soaking salts from Bath And Body Works for the smell and for a better salty feel. Epsom Salts alone do not really taste salty at all!

Beforehand, I prepared a small spray bottle. After that I poured about a teaspoon and a half of tea tree oil into my bottle. I like Tea Tree Oil because of it's salicylic acid content and Josh also loves how it smells.

After the Tea Tree Oil, I poured in about half of a tablespoon of Hemp Seed Oil. I did this because Espom Salts can be very drying, so you really need some extra moisturizer when you are using the stuff.

Here is my finished product! Obviously because you have oils, water and salt in a bottle together the natural separation process is going to occur. Give them a hearty shake and you can spritz this all over your affected areas! Just make sure that you do not get this in your eye. Tea Tree Oil burns when it comes into contact with your eyes.

makeup review!

almay clear complexion makeup w/blemish heal technology

&

almay smart shade smart balance pressed powder

I have been struggling with my foundation/powder makeup for the past few weeks and I decided that it was high time that I try switching to a brand that is known for its hypoallergenic, no animal testing and non-comedogenic makeups. Enter, Almay.

I have read various praising reviews on Almay's products and I figured that it would be worth a shot to try some of their makeup seeing as how I tend to pick when I am not wearing any makeup. The makeup keeps me from picking, but most makeup out there causes breakouts to get worse... However, Almay's clear complexion line boasts that it can actually clear blemishes while helping to prevent future breakouts. While I can't test out that theory here and now, I can test out the daily wear and tear of the makeup today!

Let's do this!

I thought that rather than over load my skin with salicylic acid, that I would go with the Smart Shade Smart Balance Pressed Powder so that I could gauge how well it blends to the skin.

Here I am, sad face. You can see that I have a few healing spots. I just got over a major breakout on my forehead. Thank you Hempseed Oil and Teatree Oil. I would be lost without you. Note, crazy eyebrows that need to be combed. I made the photo extra-large so that you can get a good feeling about how my skin is. Also, I have been taking my Maca Root supplements religiously with many awesome results. I will leave that for another post, though.

As you can see this makeup gives a great first impression! It sits well on my skin, gives a really natural look, isn't cakey and the blending powder matches my skin to a T! I have such a good opinion of the combo right off the bat, but I will do a follow up post in the next few weeks. 

All of the makeup that I am wearing in this photo:

-Hempseed Oil as a base moisturizer

-Almay Clear Complexion Makeup w/Blemish Heal Technology

-Almay Smart Shade Smart Balance Pressed Powder

-Covergirl lashperfection Mascara in Very Black

-L'Oreal Wear Infinite' Eyeshadow in 826 Antique Brown

oopsie cookies

again, i am experimenting with paleo baking...

although, this recipe turned out waaay better than I could have hoped... Much better than those godawful muffins that I made!

Ingredients:

-Rolled Oats

-60% Cacao Chocolate Chips

-3 Eggs

-A pinch of salt

-Cinnamon Sugar

-A pinch of Cream of Tartar

-Mixed Berry Cream Cheese

The recipe calls to be made exactly like your regular Oopsie Roll recipes. Just with the addition of a few sweeter ingredients.

See here how these look just like Oopsie Rolls, but also like cookies? Well, the consistency was nothing like that of a wheat flour based cookie, these were more like pancake cookies, which is to be expected with Oopsie Rolls.

In the end these turned out pretty tasty. I will definitely be making them again in the future when I have a monstrous sweet tooth.

update on paleo diet/maca root/hemp seed oil

it feels like i just did a post on this...

Probably because I did! So, today I am doing an update on how my paleo diet is going, along with how taking maca root and hemp seed oil is affecting my body.

Let us begin.

First of all, changing to the paleo diet is probably one of the hardest things that I have ever done. Prior to this, I had no idea how much wheat that I (along with pretty much all of America) had been consuming. Literately, wheat based food product was taken at every single meal. Since I have been attempting the paleo diet, there are been a few hiccups... Mostly just going out to eat. But even then, I opt out for the healthiest choices rather than the burger with fries. I am also starting to notice a slight change in my skin as well as my emotions! My inflamed, acne prone skin is starting to calm down and I am slowly starting to feel more leveled out. However, I did begin to experience detox symptoms sometime last week that included mood swings, frequent urination and nausea. All of those symptoms have since passed. Also, I miss bread and pasta. :(

Next, the hemp seed oil. I have to say... I am in love. While hemp seed oil usually boasts rapid absorption, my skin is probably so confused that it is having a hard time thoroughly absorbing the nutty, green oil. Although, I have noticed that instead of loading up my sad, inflamed skin with hydrogen peroxide/salicylic acid and switching over to the hemp seed oil, my skin is healing much faster, the bumps are smoothing out and the green color of the oil helps to cancel out redness! Bonus!

Lastly, my Maca Root. Maca root is known for its' various naturopathic capabilities such as hormonal balancing in women and as an awesome libido booster... I also heard that it can make your butt and breasts larger, but I'll see how I feel about that in the long run. Really, it's been to short to report on how the Maca is affecting me quite yet since it has only been a week or two at this point. Although, I have a positive outlook and cannot wait to see the results!

acne cured?

i may not be entirely cured, but i have finally found some relief

For the past few months now, I have been seriously knuckling down on some serious ways to help with my adult acne. I have been doing major research on all sorts of different ways to cure this annoying affliction with little avail... Until now.

I should probably start by stating that I have not been seen by a physician about my acne. However, by utilizing various online resources, I have decided that seeing as I am an adult and that I am far past the pubescent acne stage, I can only conclude that my acne is either caused by one of two things, or a combination of both:

-Hormonal Acne

- Digestive Acne

I figure that I can solve the root of both of these problems with just a few diet changes, paired along with some much needed supplements and oils. Some of the steps that I have included in this regime are as follows:

-Drastically cutting out most of the wheat, dairy, trans fats, saturated fats and most unnatural sugars. (Loosely based on the paleo diet.)

- Using several different supplements/oils to add nutrients to my diet and to balance hormones such as Macaroot, Tea Tree Oil, Zinc and general multis.

- Drinking way more water and adding light exercise.

I have to say that I may be counting my eggs before they have fully hatched... But I have been noticing a grand change in my skin and I believe that it is all thanks to this new diet. I am experiencing way less cystic acne, blackheads and spots in general. My skin is brighter and my scars are healing.

I see that it has been said that diet cannot directly effect acne... Do not leave it at that. Diet directly effects both hormone levels and (duh) your digestive track. Obviously if your body is overloaded with hydrogenated/enriched/trans/saturated/GMO/pesticidal/MSG craaap, then it is probably going to show somehow through out your body that you are out of balance.

I will be updating about my experience with these new tactics as I go along for all of you to read. I hope that this can help someone out there that may be struggling with adult acne.

fading acne scars

the strawberries & yogurt method

For the last few months I have been on a rather unnatural regiment of medications in order to sooth my adult acne. My derm prescribed me a mix of antibiotics (!!!) and topical creams to stop the pesky little bumps in their tracks... However, the only thing about acne is that it is in fact technically incurable. So when my antibiotic scrip ran out I was left with skin that was yet again plagued by nasty, painful bumps.

Obviously, I refuse to go on the antibiotics again. I wasn't crazy about the idea in the first place. So I am trying natural remedies in order to calm my skin without harsh chemicals. Not only am I taking a few new health supplements that I found through avid research, but I am also going to experiment with a new face mask to see if I can try and reduce some of the dark spots left by acne scarring.

One really great ingredient that I personally love to use on my skin is sour cream. Most of the time you can find this in anyone's kitchen, so we always have some on hand. Sour cream is great for your skin for a few reasons. First of all, it contains lactic acid, which is great for when you are trying to break down old skin cells and encourage new growth. I also noticed that I had a few extra strawberries that were too mushy to eat leftover in my fridge. Strawberries are really awesome for your skin and teeth as well! Strawberries are known for their gentle lightening properties when used as a topical treatment, so I figured why not.

You can see here that my skin isn't nearly as bad as it could be, but it is still pocked with quite a few dark spots.

I started by taking my strawberries, removing the leaves and mushing them up into a fine pulp. After that, I added my sour cream in equal parts and mixed thoroughly.

It's pink!

After mixing up my two ingredients I gently applied the mix to my face and allowed it to dry.

This mask smelled so good and didn't feel harsh on my skin one bit. But I am not going to lie, after it was dry on my skin it looked like I had a nightmare case of sunburn, so try not to be shocked it you try this mask. It rinses off like wonder.

Here are the before and after pictures! I definitely saw an improvement, even if it was only slight. My skin tone evened out a good bit and many of the dark spots were faded considerably. This is a mask that I would recommend doing once a week for the best results.

Massage Follow Up

I have found the miracle cure to small boobies.

Alright, alright, maybe not the miracle cure, but

I definitely saw an improvement by doing the daily massages.

No, really. I did the daily massages like the website recommended and I did see slight results. My less endowed right cup was the focus of the exercise. I obediently did the massages daily and saw at least 1/3 of an inch in improvement. Okay, so it may not be the full cup size that I was looking for, but hey, some growth is better than no growth. And might I add, if anyone that I know is reading this and is judging me negatively, please just stop. I am not posting this because I am some shameless bimbo with an inferiority complex. I want to feel and look more attractive to myself and to me, that means even breasts. So to all of mah ladehs out there with itty-bitty-titties... Massages those puppies if you want them to grow or become more even!

Rosario + Vampire all the way!

Multi Vitamins

You know, taking Vitamins is important.

     No seriously. Take some vitamins. I can't stress enough how important preventative health care is... And in a nation that hails the burger and fries as it's master (don't kill me, I like fries) it seems that preventing illness gets put on the back burner all too often.

     Along with eating healthy and working out, you should add vitamins to your daily health care routine. Of course no one likes to take a handful of icky pills, but when eating healthy can get pretty expensive, it can't hurt to bulk up on a few essential minerals and supplements.

     And what is preventative health care any way? Preventative health care is just what it says. Healthy practices that are used to prevent future illness. It just burns me up that people go to the doctor with an ailment, and they say okay, here's a bottle of possibly habit forming drugs to help reduce symptoms that probably cause a plethora of other issues that in turn need more pills to treat. If people would just get their heads together and realize that if you care for your body before you became ill, you wouldn't need to go to the doctor for so many things.

    Don't get me wrong. There are people that have terminal or hereditary illnesses that could not be prevented. However, look at your family's medical history. My family's medical history includes diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. So what's the plan? Daily cardio, low sodium intake and I watch how much my daily sugar intake is. It's that simple. And you can start by taking a few multi-vitamins with your daily healthy meals.

     I have a few Vitamins that I couldn't go without, such as my Iron pill. However, there are a few that I would like to suggest that can help improve your overall healthy and well being. These are all Vitamins that you can get at your local store, not over the counter.

• L-Lysine - L- Lysine is a Vitamin that is used to help reduce reoccurring cold sores, but I have read that it basically lowers your chances of getting the common cold zero to none (my Mom also takes it and claims the same; she's 50), along with washing your hands regularly.

• Any daily Multi Vitamin. Especially those directed at your age/body type. Such as One a Day: Men's and One a Day: Female Teen.

• Certain brands of fish oil/krill oil such as Natures Own or other brands. Fish oil and Krill oil have been found to be heart healthy and great for maintaining healthy nails, skin and hair!

     As a final note, make sure that you talk with your doctor before taking any new multi-vitamins. Especially if you are on any medication that it may interfere with.

Bubbly Bubble Baths

Try saying that three times fast...

     I love to take a good hot bubble bath. And why shouldn't I? I know that sitting in a tub full of your own a$$ water doesn't sound like it would do anything near cleaning you, but I don't take baths to bathe, that's what showers are for. I take bubble baths to relax. 

     People have been using tubs to bathe in for hundreds of years... And it wasn't until just recently that showers were invented and we could stop worrying about "throwing the baby out with the bath water". Did you know that is a saying based on fact? When people still used bath tubs daily, they didn't really use them daily. Sometimes only once a month; And when they did use them the entire family had to share the same water. But of course Father went first, then mother, then the children oldest to youngest. Now I understand why so many small infants died back then... That water must have been filthy! The baby was washed last, hence the saying.

     Anyway, I didn't make this post to tell you about our dirty ancestors. I made it to tell you about the new bath stuff I got for my birthday at Bath & Body Works! :D 

(The goodies never end...)

     Here you see that I have two bubble bath mixes, some bath salts, and some body spray! The bubble bath on the left is supposed to relax you and to help you ease into sleep, I haven't tried it yet, but I am looking forward to it. The bubble bath on the right is my favorite scent, eucalyptus and spearmint. I have use this before and it may just be a placebo, but I find it's effects very relaxing. The Eucalyptus and Spearmint bath salts also add wonderful aromas and the salts help detoxify your body. The Sensual Amber body spray has a very nice warm scent, but still sweet at the same time.

     Speaking of detoxifying, did you know that you can make your bath have the sole purpose of detoxing your body? You may not know what detoxifying is for in the first place, so allow me to explain. Say you have a cold, or maybe just feel kind bleh, or maybe you just want to feel on top and invigorated, while at the same time removing toxins from your body. That's what a detox bath is for.

     First off you have to prepare the water. Most people have city water, and city water has chlorine in it, so in order to purify the chlorine you should use a water filter, or purchase some Bentonite Clay, this helps absorb harmful chemicals.

     Now, you can use a combination of different minerals, salts, oils and also Hydrogen peroxide! To keep this post short, I'm going to include some great links on Detox baths!

http://www.wikihow.com/Take-a-Detox-Bath

http://wellnessmama.com/8331/3-natural-detox-bath-recipes/

Thanks for reading

Day 4: Media!

Today's topic: Risky drugs... Saving lives?

     People having been using drugs for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years throughout various cultures and all over the world for spiritual, medicinal and recreational purposes. Nowadays people are still using them, but as I am finding out they have become a little bit more taboo, not to mention the legal boundaries that are restricting the use of recreational drugs. But today I would like to talk about how doctors are fighting for the rights to test some of the most controversial drugs on humans to cure many debilitating and even life threatening illnesses.

Wait, wait, wait... You mean to tell me that... Marijuana CURES CANCER?

Oh yes people. You read that right. There are various studies with supporting proof that there is evidence that suggests that pot can prevent; and with extensive treatment can cure some forms of invasive cancer!

(Not mine, obviously)

     There have also been studies that show signs that the cannabinoids that exists in marijuana plants not only can help alleviate cancer patients, but they can also treat a variety of illnesses including but not limited to seizures, people with appetite dysfunctions and as well as people that have chronic pain.

You should read this and do some research yourself! 

http://www.businessinsider.com/sanjay-gupta-changed-his-mind-on-weed-2013-8

Psychedelics Changing Lives

     Some studies have shown that two popular psychedelics, 

psilocybin mushrooms and LSD have been showing signs through studies to help cure cluster headaches, an incredibly disabling affliction that causes a person to have migraines that last hours and sometimes every single day. 

     Now, I'm not saying "Hey! Go out there and do a bunch of drugs!" But I do believe in getting treatment to people who are struggling just to live normally and that are having trouble getting an effective treatments just due to law restrictions. Watch this video by a Youtuber known as Neuro Soup, she is very experienced and knows what she is talking about.